2025 Baseball Preview Series: Infielders

The preview series for 2025 begins with our infielders. Two Privateers in Diego Villescas and Bryce Calloway were named to the All-Southland Team in the preseason after earning postseason honors in 2024.
 
They are two guys who lead a veteran group of players that have logged a considerable amount of time at different levels of college baseball.
 
Behind the plate, two D-I transfers and a freshman round out the depth chart. Matt Gonzalez was a .315 hitter at Ball State and was recruited by Coach Norris and the staff at FIU where he started his career. Karson Evans came from a highly successful program in the last two seasons in Louisiana Tech. Xavier Rivera was Class 6A Player of the Year in Polk County while at Leadership Christian (Florida).
 
"I feel very good about our guys behind the plate," said Coach Dax Norris. "Karson and Matt have logged a lot of Division I time and that will really help us. Matt is swinging the bat well and Karson is doing an amazing job behind the plate. Xavier is a true freshman who I like a lot and will get his time behind the plate. All three of those guys have done a great job with the pitching staff."
 
At first base, Bryce Calloway manned that position throughout the season and also pitched in eight games. With a more routine offseason going into 2025, Calloway has stepped forward as one of the leaders of the squad. He hit .313 with nine home runs in '24.
 
"For Bryce, having a fully healthy offseason has made a world of difference. He goes about his business and he provides a lot of leadership for our team. All the awards he gets are well deserved and we're excited to see what he can do this season."
 
The hot corner has seen two guys get most of the playing time in Bryan Loriga and Payton Boines. Loriga was MVP and First Team All-Conference at Division II Nova Southeastern last year. Boines hit .388 with 11 doubles last season at Palm Beach State JC.
 
"Bryan and Payton can swing the bat and play defense. Coach Phil has done a great job bringing guys in and knowing the needs for our team. I got to see Bryan play at FIU and he can swing the bat really well. Payton takes tough at-bats and he is a high energy guy. Between those two I feel good about third base."
 
Villescas started the year at second base, but shifted over to shortstop. All the while, his consistency led to a second team selection by the Southland at the end of 2024. Villescas was second on the team in stolen bases with 10 and scored 50 runs last season.
 
"Diego is a throwback player. He's a steady guy day in and day out and we know what we're going to get with him in the lineup. He uses the whole field at the plate and he is calm at the plate. We're looking for another big year out of Diego."
 
At second base, Jake D'Altrui, Collin Loupe and Dalton Hurst have been engaged in a battle for the starting job. Loupe played 42 games and hit .260 last season. Hurst made the All-Defensive Team at the position last year. D'Altrui comes in after earning First Team All-Conference honors and hitting 11 homers at Pasco-Hernando State JC last year.
 
"Between Jake, Collin and Dalton, all three are solid defensively. They're fighting for that spot at second but all three of them have done well so far and with so many games early on everyone's going to get a chance to see what they've got."
 
Adrian Dominguez, Aiden Torrez and Orlando Fernandez provide more depth on the infield. Dominguez started his career at Miami before transferring to Eastern Florida State where he scored 91 runs in 89 career games. Torrez is a two-way player who had a .337 career batting average and a 2.68 career ERA at St. Joseph's Academy in Florida. Fernandez is another from the Sunshine State who earned First Team All-Area honors in 2024 at South Fort Myers High School.
 
"With Adrian, Aiden and Orlando I feel really good about the depth we have between those guys. Overall, we have guys at every position who have put the work in every day."
 
On Monday, we will take an in-depth look at the outfielders this season.
 
BLUES ON TUES. NEWSLETTER
To keep up with all athletics news at the University of New Orleans, subscribe here for our weekly newsletter.
 
SOCIAL MEDIA
Fans are encouraged to follow @PrivateersBSB on Twitter/X, @PrivateersBSB on Instagram, like Privateers Baseball on Facebook and subscribe to the UNOPrivateers YouTube.